State of play of financial instruments

Overview of the various financial schemes in place dedicated to the energy-efficient renovation of buildings.

BPIE has prepared this review to present key facts from the use of financial instruments across Europe. The paper presents an overview of the various financial schemes in place dedicated to the energy-efficient renovation of buildings in 2011. It analyses the different financing mechanisms quantitatively and provides comparisons of specific aspects such as the level of financial support and ambition with respect to the targeted energy consumption of a renovated building. It also provides information on the respective type of building concerned and on the renovation measures supported by the financial schemes. There are a few key conclusions that can be drawn:

The level of ambition of financial programmes should rise in order to unlock further private investments for deeper renovation;

A holistic approach to building renovation has a better chance of achieving deeper improvements. Funding a major retrofit strategy will require the bundling of several financial instruments available because of the high up-front cost of a deep retrofit;

There is a need to scale up renovation rates based on a long-term strategy if there is to be a true transformation and de-carbonisation of the entire buildings sector over upcoming decades;

While there are many financial programmes in place, the understanding of their overall effectiveness is unclear. Relevant information on different programmes is difficult to collect and even more difficult to compare because there is no standardised way of monitoring and evaluating the individual programmes and Member States using different key performance indicators;

New strategies to secure sufficient financing for deep renovation of the European building stock are needed, bundling private and public investment. More innovative ideas and initiatives will be necessary as deep renovations are costly, even if they are cost-effective. The considerable up-front capital is normally beyond the support of any single financial instrument.